This invention relates generally to a system and method for weighing an article and in particular to a weighing scale.
Different devices for weighing an article are well known and in common use throughout the world. The devices, such as scales, are used for a variety of different purposes. In the business of trading and shipping, scales serve the necessary role of determining the weight of the article being shipped or traded for so that the appropriate price for shipping the article of buying the article may be determined. Often, there may be equipment that has a scale integrated into the equipment. For typical production equipment that requires an integrated scale, the entire structure of the equipment is built with the load cells mounted in it. This requires that the scale manufacturer build equipment in a much more complicated manner than for a simple scale. This complicated equipment with the integrated scale is not a typical product for the scale manufacturer and thus adds a great deal of cost to the scale because of inexperience of the scale manufacturer and the low quantities of the integrated scale product equipment that is produced. In the past, to build equipment with an integrated scale, individual load cell assemblies were built into place under or within the equipment in order to transform the equipment into a scale. This prior technique, however, required modification of the equipment which created several problems including altering the height of the structure, occupying too much space or causing load cell alignment issues. Thus, it is desirable to provide an integrated element scale in accordance with the invention that overcomes the above limitations and problems with typical integrated scale equipment and it is to this end that the present invention is directed.
The present invention provides an integrated element that can be used to replace an existing support structure within the equipment to provide the equipment with the integrated scale. This integrated element contains the load cells required to provide the scale function without modifying the rest of the equipment substantially. In addition, the load and support adapter portions are provided with a load cell or load cells connecting them.
In more detail, the integrated element may contain one or more load cells and be configured to replace a standard component used in the assembly of certain types of equipment. The integrated element may include a mechanism to align the load portion and support portion of the element with the load cell or load cells in between them. The integrated element may further include a mechanism for protecting the load cells from damage due to overload or under load as well as side impacts. When higher accuracy is required, the integrated element further may include a mechanism for decoupling the loads within each element from other load cells within the same element or other elements so that horizontal loading between the deflecting load cells does not occur. The integrated element further may include a mechanism for locking the element in an aligned position so it may be adjusted and tested prior to installation. Then, the tested integrated element may be assembled into the equipment ready for operation without excessive adjustments other than those already available in the component replaced.
The integrated element scale in accordance with the invention provides many advantages.
For example, the manufacture of certain types of equipment may offer the scale feature as an option to standard equipment without modifying components of the equipment. Furthermore, the installed equipment may be retrofitted easily with the integrated element by removing standard components and replacing them with the integrated scale elements in accordance with the invention.
As an example, the leg assemblies under a conveyor or table could be replaced with elements having load-sensing capabilities in accordance with the invention thereby transforming the conveyor or table into a scale. Thus, anything then placed on the conveyor or table could then be weighed immediately without moving it to a separate scale. In accordance with the invention, the cost of scale installation into the equipment is only incremental to the cost of the scale elements and not the cost of the supported equipment that would be required without the scale.
Thus, in accordance with the invention, a piece of equipment having an integrated scale is provided. The piece of equipment has a surface that supports an article and a structure that supports the surface and an integrated element scale that is capable of weighing an article on the surface of the piece of equipment which is integrated into the support structure of the piece of equipment. The integrated element scale has a support section that connects to the support structure and a sensor section, connected to the support section, with at least one force sensor and at least two force decouplers separated by a distance to provide alignment in at least one direction. The integrated element scale also has a load section, connected to the sensor section and the surface of the piece of equipment, that transfers the weight of the article to the sensor section.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, an integrated element scale that is capable of weighing an article on a piece of equipment that is integrated into the support structure of the piece of equipment is provided. The integrated element scale has a support section that connects to the piece of equipment and a sensor section, connected to the support section, with at least one force sensor and at least two force decouplers separated by a distance to provide alignment in at least one direction. The integrated element scale further comprises a load section, connected to the sensor section and the piece of equipment, that transfers the weight of the article to the sensor section.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method for retrofitting a piece of equipment with an integrated element scale is provided. In a first step, the support structure of the piece of equipment is removed. In a second step, an integrated element scale is placed onto the piece of equipment so that the piece of equipment is able to weigh an article resting on the piece of equipment using the integrated element scale.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, an integrated element scale that is capable of weighing an article on a piece of equipment that is integrated into the support structure of the piece of equipment is provided. The integrated element scale has a support section that connects to the piece of equipment and a sensor section, connected to the support section, with at least one force sensor and at least two force decouplers separated by a distance to provide alignment in at least one direction. The scale also has a load section, connected to the sensor section and the piece of equipment, that transfers the weight of the article to the sensor section and a fixing device that fixes the positional relationship between the support section, the sensor section and the force decouplers so that the force sensing means is pre-calibrated prior to installation into the scale.